1921 Atlantic City general strike

The 1921 Atlantic City general strike occurred during the summer of 1921 in Atlantic City, New Jersey when the African-American community began a general strike to protest poor working conditions. The strikes shut down the city, and Sheriff Eli Thompson had 50 white men with billy clubs break up the strike and put down the protests.

Background
The idea of the Atlantic City general strike originated with Atlantic County Treasurer Enoch Thompson, who asked for African-American mob boss and community leader Chalky White to order a strike. Thompson had just come back from announcing his resignation as treasurer to his political rivals Louis Kaestner, Leander Cephas Whitlock, and Jimmy Darmody, and he decided that he could ruin their rule over the city by encouraging a strike that could shut down the city. White contacted his associate Dunn Purnsley, a kitchen worker at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and told him to start a strike. Purnsley and other kitchen workers were fed up with having disgusting food and small paychecks of $15 a week, and they ransacked the kitchen after they all decided to stand up to their disrespectful boss. Several other hotel workers decided to go on strike, and the 10,000 African-American citizens of the city rallied behind the strikers.

Strike
The strikers filled the boardwalk and sang Christian songs; a priest even shared a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy that called for people to respect their servants and treat all people fairly. The strike began to take effect after a few days, with many casinos and hotels losing their customers due to poor service or, in the most severe of cases, a lack of workers. The new political boss of the city, Jimmy Darmody, began to have complaints from the aldermen and other underlings of his, and Sheriff Eli Thompson proposed sending in Deputy Ray Halloran and fifty white men with billy clubs to break up the strike. Interim Treasurer Jim Neary reminisced about the 1907 strike, in which the African-American workers were said to have been driven into the ocean. Darmody reluctantly agreed to allow for the white mobs to break up the strike, and the white men rushed onto the boardwalk with their clubs. Bystanders screamed and ran away, and Dunn Purnsley told the strikers to hold their ground and fight back. Halloran was also beaten up by the strikers, as Sheriff Thompson did not trust him; the other policemen were untouched. The strikes continued, however, and Darmody decided to make a deal with White. He would give $3,000 to the families of African-American men who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, would hand over the Klansmen to White himself, and would talk to Governor Edward Edwards about getting rid of the murder charges pressed against White. The strike came to an end when Darmody delivered on his promises.